'Bows' foe, UC Davis, happy to be appearing on court again
Mar. 4—These days, the UC Davis basketball team welcomes any court appearance.
For a 41-day stretch, 11 of the Aggies' games—including eight against Big West opponents—were canceled because of coronavirus protocol in Yolo County.
Since resuming on Jan. 22, the Aggies are 5-3 in Big West games entering Friday's opener of a two-game series against Hawaii in the UC Davis Activities and Recreation Center.
"I'm really proud of our players and how they handled the layoff and down time, " head coach Jim Les said. "They stayed physically and mentally sharp and ready. It was a little slow to get started for us, but they continued to work and have a good attitude."
Yolo County, which is part of the Greater Sacramento metropolitan area, placed stern restrictions in early December when the number of coronavirus cases soared.
"We tried to focus on controlling what we can control, " Les said, "and keeping it in perspective of there were people losing their lives. There were families that were devastated. There were businesses struggling because of the pandemic. We didn't want the story to be about us and not being able to play basketball. We wanted to keep some perspective of what was going on around us, and making sure we took care of us, and control what we can control, and then hope for the best to get back on the court."
Les said no Aggie had tested positive since the team reported this past August. During the restrictive period, the players noticed that teams in some surrounding counties, as well as Big West teams, were allowed to play. Les said the coaching staff found creative ways to keep players engaged during the limited workouts. There were shooting contests, and one-on-one and two-on-two matchups. Masks were worn during the practices, and the Aggies were tested regularly "We just talked to our guys during that seven-week period, " Les said, and told them, "hey, when we can get into the gym, we want to make it the best hour and 15 minutes of your day. It's going to be fun. It's going to be competitive. It's going to be different every day.'"
The Aggies eventually were told they were going to play a road series against UC San Diego beginning Jan. 22. Because the Tritons are in a transitional period ascending from Division II, the games would not count toward the Big West standings. That did not matter to the Aggies.
"We were happy to compete, " Les said. "Our first trip down to San Diego, we weren't allowed to fly. We bused nine-and-a-half hours. I tell people, 'our guys would have walked to San Diego if it meant getting a chance to play.'"
The Aggies split the series against UC San Diego, were swept by UC Santa Barbara, and dropped the first of a two-game series against Cal State Northridge. Turnovers factored in those games.
"Some of that is our youth coming out, " said Les, whose starting lineup features only one senior. "Some of it is, 'hey, we really got into the meat of our season right into league (play ).'"
But then the Aggies beat CSUN in the rematch and have not lost since. During the five-game winning streak, three were decided by two points and two went into overtime.
